| Page titles – Page titles should be relatively short but complete, clearly indicate what a page is about (independent of subsite context), and be entered in Title Case. If the word “and” would be included it should be replaced with &. |
All page, event, or umbrella titles. |
Page titles, taglines, or subtitles should all be entered in Title Case as a best practice (even though some display as capitals presently).
Page titles should be more descriptive than general, especially when using a term that appears widely across the site (e.g., Contact Flexible Learning, not Contact).
Because the page URL is automatically created from the page title, replacing “and” with “&” will eliminate one unnecessary word from the potentially lengthy URL. |
July 10, 2019 – Initial standard created
August 12, 2019 – updated ‘applicable to’ and description.
July 23, 2020 – updated to reflect actual current recommendations
November 3, 2022 – updated for clarity
August 14, 2025 – minor text change, moved to “Text”section |
| Introduction – every page should have a 2-3 sentence introduction that provides an overview of what it is and who it is for. |
All pages. |
Help your visitors quickly figure out if they are in the right or wrong place. |
July 30, 2019 – created |
In-page headings –
- Use in-page headings and sub-headings to make your pages easily scannable
- Only use H2, H3 & H4 heading styles: H1 is reserved for the page title, and headings past level 4 are not within the BCIT standard for content.
- Apply the headings in order: In-page headings and panel elements should follow a logical progression and architecture and must not skip levels within a page. All H3s should be preceded by H2s, all, H4s should be preceded by H3s which are themselves preceded by H2s.
- All in-page headings and panel titles should be capitalized in Sentence case (with only page titles and taglines in Title Case)
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All in-page headings. |
Example:
- Do this: H2, H3, H4, H4, H2;
not this H2, H5 or this H3, H4
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July 10, 2019 – Initial standard created
August 9, 2019 – updated capitalization standard.
July 23, 2020 – minor edits for clarity, no change to standard |
| Link text – All link text should clearly describe the content at the link’s destination. No generic link text such as “click here”, “more information”, “read more”, “check it out”, etc. Also, the target website address should never be used as the link text. |
All link text. |
This is an accessibility concern. Using the prohibited link text provides a very poor user experience for screen reader users. |
July 10, 2019 – Initial standard created
July 30, 2019 – updated for scannability
August 14, 2025 – moved to Titles and text |
| PDF link text – Links to PDF files should be described as PDF files in the link text. |
All links to PDF files. |
This marking should be within the link text itself, so that users using screen readers get this information even when interacting with links separate from their surrounding context.
Example:
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July 10, 2019 – Initial standard created
July 30, 2019 – updated for scannability
August 14, 2025 – Moved to Titles and text, updated example |
| Link location – All links should open in the same window, except in those rare circumstances where doing so would substantively negatively impact the user experience. |
All links. |
This standard is a matter of both usability and accessibility. As such, the occasional exceptions also relate to usability and accessibility.
An example of a relevant exception would be a link to more information found within a fillable web form. Keeping the user’s information protected from accidental erasure is a more important usability concern in this case than the improved usability of permitting users to select for themselves where links open. |
July 10, 2019 – Initial standard created
July 30, 2019 – updated for scannability
August 14, 2025 – moved to Titles and text |
| Writing Style Guide – follow these BCIT-wide standards for all public website content. |
All content. |
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July 10, 2019 – Initial standard created
August 14, 2025 – updated link |
| Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Pages – Use these pages sparingly and only to direct users to the “one true source” of information. Display FAQ content using the Accordion panel with one question per row and add a unique ID to each question (which permits you to link directly to that question). |
FAQ pages or sections |
Before adding an FAQ, consider if you can rewrite or reorganize existing content to guide visitors to the content that’s most important to them. If you decide to include an FAQ page in your site, it’s very important not to duplicate content that already exists elsewhere. Rather, you should link to that “one true source” of information to avoid maintenance problems. |
August 9, 2019 – Initial standard created
August 14, 2025 – updated standard |